Intravenous fluid dispensing bags are provided with a fluid supply port, into which the needle of a hypodermic syringe can be introduced and through which fluid medicines are injected into the bag for dispensing to the patient intravenously. The process of withdrawing medicine from a vial into a hypodermic syringe, transporting it safely without contamination and injecting it into an intravenous fluid dispensing bag has been the subject of much prior art devoted to preventing needle breakage and preventing needle contamination from the environment to which the syringe is exposed. Protective sheaths and hoods encircling the needle are well-known, as are removable protective covers and needle guides, all intended to relieve these problems.
However, the increase in incurable infectious diseases has raised new concerns for the safety of people who use hypodermic syringes, particularly from accidental needle pricks which penetrate the skin. The prior art does not address this problem, at least as far as disclosing apparatus and methods which make accidental needle punctures essentially impossible. It will be acknowledged that the wearing of surgical gloves by attending personnel is a reliable first line of defense with regards to spilled fluids but such a precaution offers no protection against needle pricks wherein either the needle or fluid carried thereby have become contaminated.
Liquid medicine to be given to patients intravenously are supplied from the drug manufacturers in vials or bottles having a rubber stopper seal held in place by a crimped band of aluminum or other metal. To transfer medicament from this vial a hypodermic syringe needle is inserted through the rubbber stopper, perforating it and entering the vial. The medicament is drawn off into the syringe until the syringe holds the required measured amount. The needle is then withdrawn from the vial and inserted into the fluid supply port of an intravenous fluid dispensing bag containing the carrier fluid to be dispensed intravenously. The medicine injected into the bag's fluid contents is mixed therewith and is then ready for administering to the patient.
This process, which involves handling the syringe frequently, makes needle breakage and skin pricks a recurring problem. Transporting the syringe after filling and before injection can also create opportunities for the needle to be exposed to the environment for extended periods. Much of the prior art discloses devices which attempt to relieve these problems, generally by sheathing the needle and providing it with a protective cover both for guiding the needle over a medicament port and for protecting the withdrawn solution from contamination.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,826,261 to Killinger discloses a syringe with the needle surrounded by a cylindrical sheath, adapted for communication with a tubular conduit comprising part of a sealed cap which closes the neck of a medicament vial and seals it.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,098 issued to Bloom et al discloses a valved spike for insertion into the rubber stopper of a sealed medicament vial, and requires only one puncture of the stopper instead of the repeated punctures from syringe needles normally encountered when syringes are filled repeatedly from the same vial.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,669 to Nitshke discloses a syringe for use with flexible bags, the syringe having a cylindrical sheath surrounding the needle portion and serving to guide and support the needle. This patent also discloses a cap for the sheath to protect the needle for use.
However, none of this prior art is devoted to means for preventing human contact with the sharpened needle during all the steps in transforming medicament from vials to IV plastic bags, nor is the connection between the syringe, vials and IV bags necessarily the same.